Hey guys,
I just wrote up a quick post on why I think RapidWeaver is the best Muse alternative, and yes I’m obviously a little biased, but it got me thinking…
Why do you guys use RapidWeaver over anything else out there?
Looking forward too hearing what you think 
Cheers
Dan
P.S. RapidWeaver 8 is well under way and I hope to be able to share some of the features with you soon!!!
A couple of reasons for me. I bought into Rapidweaver as it was quite cost effective to get a professional looking website. With the cash I’ve spent on add-ons, I’m not sure if we could describe it as a “cheap” programme (value being a different matter).
The reason I stick with it, is in part due to the amount of time and cash I’ve invested, but the main one being it’s just fun to use.
I also like the fact that you’re encouraged to get involved in a little bit of code if you want, allowing you to grow and exploit the full potential of the programme.
I like your blog posts, so will read this one later.
I should also say the extremely helpful community is a factor. Thanks everyone.
I actually liked the look of RW 3.5 so much I bought a £1400 computer to run a £40.00 piece of software. How much of a mug…etc…
Here I am, about eight years later and I’ve managed to build a little sideline business building websites using Rapidweaver and I can’t see me switching readily to anything else.
I’ve tried WordPress and hated it. Wanted to love it. Hated it.
I’ve also invested a lot of time and some money into RW and various addons but along the way have learned an awful lot about building websites, mainly from the community here and some generous devs who’ve helped or nudged along the way. I’ve used standard themes for most work but frameworks for others. The CMS stuff is really coming along and I’m still looking forward to building my first proper e-commerce site with RW and Cartloom, Ecwid or whatever.
And the weirdest reason I like using RW is that moment of ‘reveal’ when you switch from Edit to Preview to see whether what you’ve been working on will actually look like you think it’s going to. It’s fun.
Rob
P.S. I should also say that I live in Hove, just round the corner from RealMac. Yet we have never met. So far as they know…
In my humble opinion: RapidWeaver + Stacks Plugin (for RapidWeaver) = Great Adobe Muse Alternative. In fact it’s an alternative to most competitive WebBuilding Tools – on the MacOS – because:
– Far easier than most WebSite Building Tools.
– Extendable (+1000 Stacks, add custom html, css, scripts).
– Great community support.
– No monthly cost.
– Build with or without a theme (Foundation, Foundry, FreeStack).
In other words, you can ‘meet’ RapidWeaver at your level and build from there. Once you get the workflow under your skin, it’s fast, faster & easier to build with than WordPress. And you get the MacOS touch & feel.
Of course my opinion as a long time RapidWeaver user (since RW3) is somewhat coloured 
Best | DeFligra | www.defligra.com
Mac’O’Holic | Stack’O’Holic | Web’O’Holic & Rapid’O’Holic
I’ve been using RapidWeaver since day ONE. Since the earliest beta version.
I have a background using apps such as Adobe GoLive Macromedia/Adobe DreamWeaver.
When Stacks became available for RapidWeaver, I switched to RW for 80% of my projects.
When Blueball’s FreeStack Responsive became available, I switched to RW on a permanent basis.
In the meantime, I use Foundation 90% and Foundry 10% of the time and with over 600 stacks installed there’s just no looking back — not only because of the financial investments I’ve made, but because there’s nothing that isn’t possible!
To be honest, I never used Muse. Why? Because 1) I don’t have the financial means to pay an annual subscription and 2) Adobe’s track recored with web editors isn’t brilliant (and I used to work for Adobe), leaving me with little faith in their web development products.
Keep on Weavin!
Or at least take a look at RW before you simply dismiss it as “Another” WYSIWIG editor
@dan I purchased Version 3 because I wanted a quick an easy way to build a publishable Web Site. Since then I have added most Plugins; purchased Stacks and many stacks, themes, and with various RW newbuilds it gets better and better. My son uses Dreamweaver (did) until I showed him how quickly I could get an extremely professional looking Web Site in a fraction of the time with RW. I hope Realmac keep developing RW and keep it as McFormats preferred Web Builder.
The complaints on the Forums are nearly always down to pure user error and I invariably point the complainants to both Realmac videos and Rapidweaver Classrooms. It is comforting that they later respond and agree how good RW really is when they have mastered the learning curve.
I always jump straight in to Beta upgrades as I can invariable find an alternative solution to initial bugs.
Keep up the good work - look forward to RW 8, but am pretty content with the very stable 7.5.5
The software is stable and constantly under development with improvements and lately those improvements have been huge steps. Hats off to you @dan. In no particular order (although #4 hooked me):
May I ask why you use 90% Foundation & 10% Foundry?
I am a newbie!
I hadn’t heard of Blueball’s Free Stack Responsive, so I will look at this as well.
Many thanks,
Kind regards,
Ros
Hi Rosalind,
FreeStack Responsive was the first suite of stacks that allowed you to build freestyle, responsive pages.
It’s a little older now, but still good value for money and allows a beginner to quickly and easily design and build their very own sites.
I use Foundation 99% of the time because it can do more than FSR (e.g. I have more control over the mobile design) and it takes precedence over Foundry simply because I’ve been using it for much longer and know it well.
If I’d purchased Foundry first, it would possibly be the other way round.
Regards,
Rob
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